Saturday March 4, 2023 was a busy day for Terry County first responders and law enforcement with 6 fires and two accidents. Most fires were grass fires or “controlled burns” that got out of hand. One fire was called out on US 380 East for a house on fire. According to the fire department the cause of the house catching fire is still under investigation, however the front yard portion was completely burned and the fire reached the front porch of the house caused it to catch fire.
One Brownfield Fire truck was able to respond for the first 15 minutes to the house while other fire fighters were out at other fires. Eventually more fire fighters showed up and help keep the house from burning down. Other fires that took place during the afternoon the day were located throughout the county. One took place on FM 402 just south of the Plains Highway (US 380 West). The next fire took place about two miles south of FM 211 on FM 168. This was a controlled burn that would end up “getting out of hand”. The Brownfield Fire & Rescue and Meadow Fire Dept. would work on that fire plus other fires in the same area that were supposed to be controlled burns, however were never called into the sheriffs dept.
The next fire that was called in was in the far southeast corner of Terry County near the Lynn County line at FM 213 and County Road 705. The final grass fire called in was about a mile south of the Levelland HWY (US 385 north) on Texas HWY 137. All fires were put out with no injuries.
Through the fires, there were also two accidents during the day. One happened around 11:00 am just south of Wellman on US 62/385. According to preliminary reports, a person driving a dark color Ford Focus driving in the left northbound lane and was passing a white late model Chevy single cab pickup, also driving northbound in the right lane, lost control and hit the left driver side door of the white Chevy. This caused the Chevy to slide into the median and facing north. The Ford would end up stopping in the left lane facing west. Drivers and passengers were treated on scene. Terry County Sheriff’s Dept. Wellman Fire Dept., Brownfield Fire & Rescue, BRMC EMS, and TxDPS responded.
The next accident happened around 3:35 pm. It took place at the intersection of South Cedar and East Webb. A Sheriff’s Deputy was traveling south on Cedar responding to a grass fire. The deputy in sheriff department cruiser went through the intercession and was t-boned on the passenger side by a late model white four door GMC Sierra. The GMC ended up facing south on the road just south of East Webb. The driver of the GMC was taken to BRMC with unknown injuries. The Brownfield PD, Brownfield Fire & Rescue, BRMC EMS, Terry County Sheriffs Dept., and TxDPS responded to the scene. The TxDPS would end up being the investigating department for the accident due to a Terry County deputy and a Terry County unit being involved in the accident.
